She is elegant, graceful, poised, and disciplined and she credits her never-give-up attitude to years of being into sports. Not that there have been no lows in her life like us ordinary mortals, but superstar Deepika Padukone handles them in the same charming manner that she handles her fame. Her humble demeanour and warmth smugly embraced us as we conversed about her success as a beauty entrepreneur. Skincare label 82°E, of which the beautiful actress is the face and co-owner, just turned a year older and Deepika takes us through her journey as a businesswoman, her skincare choices, fitness routine, how she handles stress, and upcoming film projects.
Excerpts from the chat.
With every other celebrity launching their beauty label, how do your brand and you stand out in the crowd? Or is it just ticking another checklist off?
I understand this apprehension that people have because of this sense of almost every celebrity launching a brand, but I think you have to be true to your purpose and your journey. I was always passionate about launching my brand that would be an extension of who I am and my core beliefs and that combined with a gap in the market and consumer pain point led us to launch our skincare brand. It began with my pain point as a consumer, where I started to feel extremely overwhelmed by the amount of information and the number of brands that were out there. I started feeling why couldn’t there be one brand that could simplify my skincare journey without compromising on the efficacy and quality of products. There were certain brands based on Ayurveda and certain others backed by science and I always felt confused about which brand I should invest in. That led to our product formulations. So, I understand the apprehensions at the end of the day when a celebrity launches a brand, but when you identify your pain point and follow it through with honesty, transparency and consistency, you set yourself up for success.
We see celebs endorsing brands but how much are your products a part of your skincare regimen?
I use it at two levels. From the cofounder's perspective, I am the first one in the team to trial a product before it goes for clinical trials and dermatological testing. This is the same for every product whether it suits my skin type or not. That’s one aspect of it. The specific products that suit my skin type are a part of my everyday skincare routine.
I have a dry skin and I use Lotus Splash cleanser, follow that up with Rose Boost undereye cream and then with Ashwagandha bounce moisturizer before applying Turmeric Shield sunscreen. I do it daily twice a day. At night I use Bakuchiol for extra hydration. During the colder season, or if my skin feels extra dry, I use Patchuli Glow sunscreen.
What’s your fitness routine like?
Fitness has been more about how I feel and not about how I look. Fitness is a huge part of my self-care ritual just as my skincare routine. I do a couple of things in a day that help me take care of myself, and most importantly, it’s more about doing it consistently. Anything we do in our lives we seek for instant gratification. But whether it’s your skincare, nutrition, sleep or exercise, it has to become a part of your lifestyle and you have to do it consistently to be able to see long-term results and benefits.
My fitness routine actually starts with sleep. I am a huge advocate for both the quality and quantity of sleep. I sleep usually for anywhere between 6 and 9 hours depending on what my day has been like and how my next day is going to be. But I aim for a good 7-8 hours and once I am rested, I throw in some workout that’s not long and intense but something simple and effective -- something that I can do every day, even when I am travelling. It’s a mix of a little bit of cardio and weight training. Again, you can’t look at working out in isolation, you have to complement it with nutrition. Nutrition is again something I am extremely particular about though it’s nothing too extreme, since that’s not sustainable. Also, I have to keep in mind that I travel often, so, whatever diet I follow I have to make sure that I can do it throughout. Same with skincare, I follow something so simple that when I am travelling, I can be consistent with it.
What's your diet like?
For me, it’s about a balanced diet. My day starts with a breakfast followed by a fruit and some veggie juice mid-morning. I have a balanced Indian lunch with daal, brown rice, veggies and some protein. Evening snacks are usually accompanied with something to drink and the dinner is again a balanced meal with more protein than carbs.
Any comfort food?
I don’t tend to have anything in excess, so I eat everything. As long as you have balance you can enjoy everything.
How did you learn to be so balanced and consistent?
I don’t think consistency, balance and patience do not happen overnight. Since I have been an athlete, thinking like an athlete comes to me easily. My consistency, balance, dedication, commitment, focus, and how to handle success and failure -- all of it comes from being an athlete.
There’s so much that goes on in social media, how do you handle it all?
I think at the end of the day when there is so much love, admiration and respect for everything we do, some amount of negativity is a part of what we do and it’s bound to happen. As long as you keep focus and continue doing what you do, it doesn’t matter. Sports teaches you how to stay focused and it’s also the way I have been brought up that helps me deal with all this.
Some things you miss doing after becoming a celebrity?
I don’t feel that I miss doing anything that I used to do before. The way I look at it is at the end of the day it creates a little inconvenience for people around us but it’s not like Ranveer and I don’t have our moments, we do like going to restaurants or for a walk but what happens in the process is that people around us start getting pushed, sometimes there are children and sometimes slightly older people. I think it’s about being aware of people around us versus for ourselves and both our families play a huge role in keeping us grounded.
How do you de-stress?
Doing those little things for yourself daily and consistently without feeling any kind of pressure or guilt is important -- whether it’s spending time with my husband, family or friends, watching tv shows, or trying different food in restaurants. I love cleaning and find it extremely therapeutic, besides music and travel. My skincare ritual too plays a huge part of my unwinding routine.
What’s beauty to you?
When you can be your most authentic self and feel most centred and confident physically and emotionally, that’s beauty.
Upcoming projects?
I have two projects coming up – Siddharth Anand’s Fighter and Nag Ashwin’s Kalki 2898AD